A Guest Post by Lisa Newton

For me, the answer to this question is a total, unabashed YES. I live, sleep, and breathe my blog, Travelin’ Local.

1-3 Do You Live, Sleep, Breathe Your Blog?

Live. I live in California, and became a resident two years ago; but I’ve fallen in love with it, the people, its beaches, the cities, the mountains—and so much, much more. However, being in California is only part of what I live for. I also live for my other passion which is photography. Many years ago, I played with a 35mm camera, but four kids, a family, and work interrupted my love of photography. A few months ago, thanks to a Christmas gift, my passion for photography was reactivated.

So what better way to express my two passions than creating my own blog where I am able to feature my deeply personal interpretation of my local neighborhoods, with photos, prose and stories, and research about “all things” California? Thus, Travelin’ Local was born.

Sleep. How does one sleep with their blog? Because I’m thinking about it as soon as I wake up, and right before I go to bed, and even (although it’s only happened twice), when I wake up in the middle of the night—burning with an idea, or thought, which I quickly wrote down on my notebook next to the nightstand, before going back to sleep.

Breathe. I breathe life into my blog, and it gives life back to me. Like yesterday. After working for 10 hours at my “day” job, I arriving home, glanced at the sky, and knew right there right then, that I had to go right back out. I happened to see the one of the most beautiful and stunning sunsets I’ve seen in many, many years. So grabbed my camera and started shooting photo after photo, before the sun quickly set—with one of the pictures featured here. Like a bricklayer who uses bricks to build a wall, I choose words as a wordsmith, instead, to construct a story about the sights and sounds of what I see and experience. And because blogging is an instantaneous and spontaneous endeavor, I immediately wrote this to share my story.

4 – 7 Is Blogging Passion, Connections, Dedication and Goals?

Passion. Don’t confuse passion with unrealistic dreams of grandeur. With our newly wired world, it’s easy to get caught up with things that aren’t realistic. On the other hand from the gems of ideas, do spring captains of finance, information technology, publishing, arts, science, and writing. I have a great family, wonderful friends, and feel good about where I’m at. But my love of blogging has taken me to the next level, just as blogging itself fuels my passion.

Meaningful Connections. Another very important reason my blog is important to me is that it affords me with the ability to meet interesting and inspiring people every day. Lance is a tremendous talent and great person who writes about life with uncanny depth and persuasion of conviction. And with her divine photography; Diane C. takes me right into her “home” with her photo blog of the intricacies and fascinating Arizona desert and habitats; and Henie creates art every day, sharing it with her readers. These are just three examples of the wonderful and talented people that I’ve made friends with at my Travelin’ Local community.

Dedication. Even before I started my blog, I spent quite a bit of time doing my homework by reading other blogs, blogs about blogging, joining communities, fastidiously responding to other’s comments, and enjoying countless hours looking at the huge amount of photography on the Internet. I learned about writing, reading, design, and life.

Setting Goals. I created Travelin’ Local because it’s my passion and inspiration. I did so with a very specific creative and publishing model in mind—I wanted to show and share with the world California; but from my own perspective. But along the way, I literally stumbled upon a “name your dream” contest for photographers and photojournalists, to name their dream job—so for me the decision to participate in it was instantaneous. My dream job is to keep doing what I was already doing—which was Travelin’ Local–but taking it to the next level with more and more content and photojournalistic stories. The chance to win $50,000 didn’t hurt my want for the assignment, either.

I looked at it, and of course — California Dreamin’ was my submission. I entered the contest, aware that I don’t yet know as many people online as I want to, but both in degree and kind requesting votes isn’t considered spam. (Yes, I do read Chris Brogan ……………………….:)

Is Blogging Your Dream? I’ve told you all a lot about myself, along with the where’s, why’s, and when’s of what drives me. So back to the original question posed in the title. My blog is my dream which I made a reality, because I live for it, and it in turn inspires me and others, which, in turn, inspires others and others, creating something that will hopefully be passed on to future generations. If you’re so inclined, please take a look at my contest entry, California Dreamin’. It only takes a few minutes to register. To be considered for the next stage of judging, California Dreamin’ needs to be in the top 20 of all entries. I’d love to get a little blogger help, and I know that Liz’s community would totally understand how to help my dream turn into a reality.

What about you? Do you dream your blog? Is your blog a dream? Do you Dream Big?

Lisa Newton writes content and talks about social media at Travelin’ Local . Her twitter name is @LisaNewton

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